so, I've been trying to do calorie counting to get over this hump that I am in and I just dont know how many calories i need to be eating every day. I know everyone is different but I am unsure how much i should be intaking.

Because right now at about 1200 Im hungry all the time. Im ready to just throw my hands up and scream. I mean should I be eating more I just don't know and I was wondering if someone can help me understand where i need to start off at.

Do you work out? If so, I think you should definitely be eating more. I know calorie calculators are not extremely accurate but I plugged your stats into one on freedieting.com (I wasn't sure about your age so I put mine which is 23 lol) and I put "little to no exercise" just to see, and it says you could be losing on about 1,650. Sometimes it's just trial and error but I think this sounds like a good place to start- even higher if you exercise regularly.

I've been calorie counting for a while and I started out at 187 eating 1,500-1,600 calories and was losing steadily on that for about 30 lbs. Now, my weight loss has started to stall so I've dropped my calories to 1,400-1,500 and it seems to be working well so far.

Alot of people think 1,200 is pretty much the lowest one should go so I don't think that's a good place to start because if you begin to plateu you'll have no room to drop your calories to get jumpstarted ya know? Also, to me the simple fact that you are hungry all the time is a good indicator that you should eat more. I hope this helps a little, good luck!

That's great advice! I was just going to say that from what I've read/heard1200 is the lowest you should go if you aren't working out. Try to do one of those BMR calculators, and start with that number. If you are eating those calories and excercising you should be in good shape.

Yes, try not to start out really low -- then if you want to reduce you don't have any room to go down.

That said, if you haven't calorie counted before, you will have to distinguish between cravings and hunger, and if it's cravings, try to push through it. The first month I started calorie counting (1600-1700 a day plus exercise, which worked out to lose a pound a week for me) I almost went nuts. Especially if I had had cereal or bread or pasta during the day, without some protein to balance it. Now I eat a lot more vegetables in place of those, and I don't feel pangs. Yesterday when I was cleaning ahead of some guests I even took down the post-it note that says "Are you REALLY hungry?"

If I'm really not eating enough calories in the week I don't feel cravings but get really lame and sluggish, and have trouble getting through my normal exercise routine.

It just hit me that sometimes we talk upping calories to beat hunger, but we don't always talk changing foods.

For me, I change foods sometimes to deal with hunger. I'm eating more fat and protein and that helps. And a lot of vegetables are great too. I never wanted to give up low fat carbs like bread, potatoes, and white rice, but they never fill me up and make me feel hungry so I rarely eat them anymore.

I'm with motivated chickie ... if you are determined to stick with 1200 cals, make sure it's higher protein and some good fats. These are some of the things that keep you feeling full longer (satiety value). And if adding some avocado, olive oil or nuts adds a 100 cals or so ... it doesn't matter much because 1300 or 1400 cals is still OK.

motivated chickie originally postedIt just hit me that sometimes we talk upping calories to beat hunger, but we don't always talk changing foods.

I think chickie has a good thought here. I am not sure if you should up your calories a little or not, but are you getting in the most food that you can for 1200 calories? I worked my way down to 1200 calories not because 1200 calories was too low but because I had to learn how to be able to satisfy myself on 1200 calories. I had to seek out the lower calorie foods that filled me up and that I liked. How much food are you able to eat with your 1200 calories?

Try freedieting.com for a good range and please please please do your OWN research on low cal diets and how metabolism is effected in the long term. I know your goal is to lose weight, but if you can't maintain your loss because you have to maintain at a low cal range because your metabolism has slowed down IMO it's not worth it. In my option depending on how much you exercise and your size, and the fact that you are hungry (although I'd like to know what you are eating, because the points about what you are eating are very valid when it's come to hungery) 1200 is way too low for you. I'm not going to go on my typical rant about this because everyone seems to have a different opinion about it, so like I said, do your own research. But for what it's worth I'm losing consistantly at 1500-1700 cals, but I work out 5-6xs a week.

I lost the majority of my weight eating 1200 calories a day and after the first week I rarely was ever hungry. You see, I remember my first week pretty well, and like the 2nd day, I made fried chicken and mashed potatoes and gravy for a meal. For my dinner I could have one drum stick, 1/2 cup mashed potatoes and a few tablespoons of gravy and some green beans and I was maxed out on calories for the meal. An hour later I was starving.

I learned VERY quickly that if I was going to do this, that I HAD to change the foods I ate, and not the calories...For the same 500 calories I could have a 4 oz grilled chicken breast smothered in peppers, onions and garlic. A baked potato topped with salsa, a big salad with low calorie dressing...oh and a low fat yogurt for dessert. All for the same calories....and probably 10X's the nutrition. Oh, and I never plateaued, and when I reached goal I actually got to ADD calories instead of continuously taking them away. But that's just me.

__________________
Highest weight - 333 pounds. Lost 193 pounds by calorie counting in 2008/09. Regained 73 pounds in the last 7 years and am working on getting back to a normal BMI.

What my understanding about calories, which I had tried 1200, was hungry, then I up to 2000 and was still hungry...Now I am eating at 2500 -3000 daily and showing good numbers on my scale.. I walk, climbing stairs daily, 29 steps..and what I read on Richard Simmons booklet for his plan on letting your current weight be the guide of calorie adjustments.